1920s Crematorium, Romania

This disused 1920s Crematorium is uniquely entwined with 100 years of Romanian history, culture and politics. It was built to provide funerary rights to the secular minority in an overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian country, where less than 1% of the population choose cremation. After weathering World War 2, the crematorium became the state-sanctioned funeral method of the Soviet-backed Romanian Communist regime (as well as a convenient way to dispose of those who fell out of favour with the party).

I visited the 1920s Crematorium during my 2024 Romania Road Trip.

The role of cremation in Romanian funerary tradition

In the early 20th century, Romania’s approach to death and funerary traditions was deeply rooted in Eastern Orthodox practices. Orthodox Christian beliefs decree the body is sacred and should be preserved after death so it can be resurrected on the Final Judgement. Therefore, burial was the accepted norm, and cremation was largely viewed as sacrilegious. Despite this, a growing movement advocating for secularism and modernisation sought to introduce cremation as an alternative. Cremation was posed as a hygienic and practical practice, particularly in urban environments where burial space was becoming scarce.

Nowadays, Romania remains one of the few European countries where cremation is not widely practiced. Less than 1% of Romanians are cremated, and only a handful of crematoria operate.

Construction of this 1920s Crematorium

This crematorium opened in the 1920s, a grand project by the newly established Romanian Cremation Society. Designed by a leading Romanian architect of the interwar period, the architecture was influenced by both classical and modernist styles. The cremation chamber features bold geometric design, the designs picked out by black tiles set against white surrounding tiles. The overall design of this area certainly aligns with the Art Deco movement of the time: clean lines, geometric forms, and a sense of grandeur. The funerary hall features a vast, domed chamber with high, arched windows. Natural light floods filter in, creating a sombre yet serene atmosphere. Here, the ashes of the cremated are stored.

Upon opening, the site began facing almost immediate resistance from the Orthodox church. This opposition meant that, despite its construction, the crematorium saw limited use in its early years. During the mid-1930s the number of cremations nearly tripled. Then, the outbreak of World War II saw a pause in cremation service, along with bomb damage to the building. The society repaired and rebuilt.

Cremation Soviet regime (Socialist Republic of Romania, 1947-1958)

When the Soviet-backed Communist regime took over in 1947, Romania’s new government embarked on a campaign to diminish the influence of the Orthodox Church. As part of this secularisation effort, cremation was actively promoted as a practical and ideological alternative to traditional burials. The state saw cremation as a way to reduce cemetery overcrowding, streamline funeral costs, and undermine religious dominance over death rites.

During this period, crematoriums witnessed a significant rise in usage among the general population. Also, many high-ranking Communist officials were cremated. Another group that were cremated, often hastily, were victims executed by the state or other figures deemed sensitive to the regime. Dissidents and those who fell out of favour were quietly cremated; this was the fate of those the government wished to dispose of without a trace.

By the late 1980s, Romania was suffering a power crisis as conditions in the Romanian Socialist Republic worsened. Rationing of petroleum products meant low gas pressure, leading to incomplete cremation and mass burials of partially cremated corpses. It is claimed that gas was reserved for regime supporters and the wealthy, who were still given full cremation.

Closure of the 1920s Crematorium

As Romania’s Communist regime collapsed in 1989, and with it went state-endorsed cremation. As the Orthodox Church regained its influence, burial again became the culturally and religiously accepted norm. A demand for cremation plummeted; many crematoria (including this 1920s Crematorium) closed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.